Mugabe wants to spy on the Net
p2pnet.net news:- Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe is demanding new laws to give his government power to spy on phones, mail and the Net.
The move is, “seen by critics as part of an official crackdown on the opposition,” says newzimbabwe.com going on:
“While rights groups are concerned President Robert Mugabe’s government will use the Interception of Communications Bill to infringe on privacy and further trample freedom of speech, officials have described it as integral to fighting crime.”
Communication minister Chris Mushowe told parliament the US, Britain and South Africa have “similar legislation,” says the story.
“The Bill is expected to be passed by the lower house of parliament on Wednesday and then go on to the upper chamber. Mugabe’s government, which has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, has a two-thirds majority in both houses,” it states, adding:
“If passed, the Bill will give the state the authority to monitor the phones and mail of anyone suspected of threatening national security or involvement in criminal activities.”
But, “Critics say the bill is motivated by Mugabe’s desire to punish and keep closer tabs on the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, amid rising unrest in the economically strapped southern African nation. Opposition legislators said they feared the government would abuse the law.”
The Mugabe administration, “has been criticized around the world for corruption, suppression of political opposition, mishandling of land reform, economic mismanagement, and the deteriorating human rights situation in Zimbabwe,” says the Wikipedia.
“According to most analysts his administration’s policies have led to economic collapse and massive starvation over the course of the last ten years. Currently, Zimbabwe has the highest inflation rate in the world, and is, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Africa’s worst economic performer.”
(Thanks, Archie)
Also See:
newzimbabwe.com – Zimbabwe set to pass new law to monitor phones, internet, June 13, 2007
If your Net access is blocked by government restrictions, try Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre for International Studies. Go here for the official download, and here for details. And if you’re Chinese and you’re looking for a way to access independent Internet news sources, try Freegate, the DIT program written to help Chinese citizens circumvent web site blocking outside of China. Download it here.
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Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local politicians. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance. Don’t just complain. Do something!
